A bagel is a bread product traditionally made of yeasted wheat dough in the form of a roughly hand-sized ring which is first boiled in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior. Bagels are often topped with seeds baked onto the outer crust with the most traditional being poppy or sesame seeds. Some have salt sprinkled on the bagel.It has become a popular bread product in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom especially in cities with large Jewish populations, such as Montreal, New York, Toronto and London, each with different ways of making the bagel.Bagels are distinct from the similarly shaped doughnuts and from the similarly textured bialys, primarily because of the cooking method amongst other differences. Russian bubliks are very similar to bagels, but are somewhat bigger, have a wider hole, and are drier and chewier. Pretzels, especially the large soft ones, are also very much like bagels, the main exceptions being the shape and the alkaline water bath that makes the surface dark and glossy.

New Orleans BBQ shrimp are not like the ones that you throw on a grill, lightly seasoned and great for summer cookouts. Down south we bake and serve the shrimp, unpeeled in a rich and spicy lemon-butter sauce, which is then sopped up with hunks of crusty French bread. Happy Mardi Gras Guys!

Discover some unique ways to make oven baked fries extra special.

Christmas is coming, which means it's time to start baking cakes shaped like logs! The Yule Log is a traditional French dessert served during the holiday season.

Eating foods such as french fries, crisps and cookies may increase a woman's risk of cancer.That's because carbohydrate-rich foods that are baked, grilled, roasted or toasted over 120° C contain higher levels of a chemical called acrylamide.

Trans fatty acids are created when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil – a process that makes the oil last longer. Food fried in oil containing trans fat or baked with shortening or other ingredients containing trans fat stay fresh longer. Trans fats are what gave the Oreo cookie filling its smooth, creamy texture and make French fries crisp.